The present invention relates to a processed apparatus for debittering bitter lupin seed, and to the use of material derived from bitter lupin seed as a biologically active agent.
The bitter lupin is a crop plant that was grown in ancient Egypt and later all over the Mediterranean region and in South America. Due to a high content (40% and over) of completely digestible protein and an oil content of 15% to 20% in its seed, the bitter lupin is valued as a nutrient for man and animals.
But before bitter lupin seed may be used as a food for man or animals, it has to be freed of its bitter substances. This is necessary not only to eliminate a bitter taste but also to assure that the bitter substances are not the cause of the so-called lupin disease, which is particularly a problem in the case of domestic animals.
In one well-known process for freeing lupin seed of bitter substances, the lupin seed is first -boiled and then steeped in water for up to 48 hours. The drawbacks of this process are that it is complex and expensive, and that there is a marked loss in the food value of the lupin seed. Furthermore, large amounts of water are needed for the process, and there is the problem of contamination to surface and subsurface waters into which the waste may run. There are also debittering processes that employ solvents other than water, but such processes have serious shortcomings.
In addition to the use of bitter lupin seed as a food for man and a feedstuff for animals, the seed has been used in a milled form as a material for promoting the growth of plants. The effects of milled lupin seed on the growth of plants are small, however.